Earlier that day I had come across this site and told her that we should stay away from the “S” models and go for something “off brand”. She obliged and we looked up mattress stores in our area, Newton, MA. We visited Gardner Mattress first a local, hand-made in-house mattress manufacturer and retailer with 5-star Yelp reviews. We tried several mattresses and while we landed on one (no pun intended) that we liked, we didn’t fall in love. Gardner seems to use high quality material and construction methods, however it didn’t blow us away.
Just down the street was Sleepy’s (where she had purchased in the past with positive results) so we went there next. We tried probably 15 different innerspring mattresses over the course of 2 hours from the low-end Simmons Beautyrest Recharge all the way up to the Simmons Beautyrest Black including other models by Serta and Sealy. We ended up both really liking the Simmons Beautyrest Recharge Shakespeare Luxury Plush, that was until we got shown “The Tom Brady” bed.
So now I’m here, looking for advice on what to do next. I loved the bed too, however a quick search on here as well as Amazon shows less than stellar reviews regarding its longevity. I’m 200lbs and 6’ and sleep on my side, back and stomach, she is 145lbs and 5’8 and sleeps on her side primarily, however she has some back problems from her collegiate golf days. We both like a good amount of firmness with some sinking in. We currently use a now defunct brand comfort firm mattress with a 2" foam topper.
What do you think I should do? Ask for my money back? Where should we look next if I do?
The major brands such as Sealy/Stearns & Foster, Simmons, and Serta (including the Beautyrest Black line) all tend to use lower quality and less durable materials in their mattresses than most of their smaller competitors that will tend to soften or break down prematurely relative to the price you pay which is why I would generally suggest avoiding all of them completely (along with the major retailers that focus on them as well such as Sleepy’s/Mattress Firm) regardless of how they may feel in a showroom along with any mattress where you aren’t able to find out the type and quality/durability of the materials inside it (see the guidelines here along with post #3 here and post #12 here and post #404 here).
You can see an example of the type and quality of the materials in a Beautyrest Black box top here and if you compare them to the durability guidelines here you will see that it includes some very low quality/density materials that would be a weak link in the mattress and could compromise the durability and useful life of the mattress much too quickly.
This is one of the oldest “tricks” or marketing tactics in the book that many of the larger chain stores use to create a false sense of urgency and commitment to help increase the odds that a potential customer will buy a mattress from them before they walk out the door.
If I was in your shoes there is no doubt that I would cancel the purchase and get a refund of your deposit and continue to look for a better quality/value mattress that would be just as suitable in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) but that uses higher quality materials that would be much more durable.
Subject to first confirming that any retailer or manufacturer on the list that you wish to visit is completely transparent (see this article) and to making sure that any mattress you are considering meets your criteria and the quality/value guidelines here … the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in and around the larger Boston region are listed in post #2 here.
I’m not sure what you’ve read since you found the site but the best place to start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice … and perhaps more importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones.
Two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you’ve read are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort” and PPP that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here (which I also linked earlier in this reply) which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
Thank you Phoenix, your post was immensely helpful. I’ve spent more time going through the site and we visited two more stores: Boston Bed Company and Jordan’s Furniture. We realize that we really like latex mattresses. We loved the Pranasleep Asana 6.2 Plush at Jordan’s however the 3" SuperQuilt layer scares me from a longevity perspective.
I think at this point, I’ll get that deposit refunded and head over to Spindle Mattress for a 100% latex mattress on Labor Day. They’re an approved vendor here and although we haven’t tried out their mattresses yet, I think we’ll likely go in that direction as they seem to offer the trifecta: Price, Quality and Longevity.
Having 3" of polyfoam on top of latex would concern me as well because not only would it reduce the feel of the latex (which may be a positive or a negative depending on how you feel about the overall feel of the mattress compared to other mattresses where you are sleeping closer to the latex) but if the polyfoam quilt layers are lower density that the suggestions in the durability guidelines then it could certainly have a significant effect on the durability of the mattress as well. I would also be concerned about their prices compared to other similar mattresses that only contain a relatively small amount of latex.
I’m looking forward to your comments and feedback after your visit to Spindle.
I also noticed that some sites offer 5% off for members here. Is there anything I have to do in store other than state that I’m a member here? If I have to buy online, is there a coupon code I should use?
Some of the online members have a discount code (you can see the list here) but for the online members that don’t or for a local purchase you just need to let them know that you are a forum member here.
We went to Spindle Mattress and tested out all of their 100% latex mattresses and we didn’t fall in love with any of them. We strongly considered buying the Prana and then Sean, the owner said they have 3 inch latex toppers.
We tried the medium topper on the firm mattress and it gave us the exact feel we were looking for. It cradled us perfectly while still offering ample support.
We also got 10% off.
5% mattress undergrond discount
2.5% pickup instead of delivery
2.5% paid by check instead of credit card
I’ll report back once we take delivery and get a few nights on it
I’m guessing you mean Neal (the owner of Spindle)?
[quote]We tried the medium topper on the firm mattress and it gave us the exact feel we were looking for. It cradled us perfectly while still offering ample support.
We also got 10% off.
5% mattress undergrond discount
2.5% pickup instead of delivery
2.5% paid by check instead of credit card
I’ll report back once we take delivery and get a few nights on it [/quote]
It’s good to hear that you were able to find a combination that works well for you and you certainly made a great quality/value choice.
Congratulations on your new mattress
I’m looking forward to your comments and feedback once you’ve received it and have had the chance to sleep on it for a bit.
